


Starry Night

by Glowstickia



Series: Echoes of You [12]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Fluff, Fluffy February 2021, Mutual Pining, Prompt Fill, Stargazing, Stars, fluffy february
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-13 03:00:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29769660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glowstickia/pseuds/Glowstickia
Summary: While sitting up in the stands on another chilly night, Echo's late night star watching is interrupted by a pair of golden stars, oh, and Dogmeat.
Relationships: Nick Valentine/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Echoes of You [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1718185
Comments: 4
Kudos: 3





	Starry Night

**Author's Note:**

> Day 11 of [Fluffy February:](https://fluffyfebruary.tumblr.com/post/639602426793623552/fluffy-february-prompts) Stargazing.

It was cold. Always was while she sat up in the stands. Echo tugged her hat down, making sure her ears were protected from the cold as she stared up at the night sky. The lights of Diamond City drowned out most of the stars, but not all of them.

She had heard and read books about stars growing up. She never got tired of staring up at them. Lights twinkling in the dark void backdrop…

Echo shuddered and pulled the blanket on her lap up, to cover her arms with another layer. “At least it’s not windy.” She muttered as her gaze shifted down.

Two small golden stars stared up at her.

Echo shifted in her seat. Yep. He noticed her.

She heard the click of nails against concrete and Dogmeat panting as he rejoined her in the stands. He hopped onto the seat next to her and laid his head on her lap. She sighed and tugged her hand out of her blanket.

“You went and told on me, didn’t ya?”

Dogmeat’s tail thumped as she scratched behind his ears. He boofed.

She looked up to see the ‘stars’ were moving closer. A third one, dull red, had appeared while she had turned away.

Nick paused a row down. “Mind the company?” He asked as smoke curled out of his cheeks.

Echo beckoned him. “Not if it’s you.”

The cigarette glowed a little brighter as Nick took another drag. He slowly made his way over to her. She patted the spot next to her until Nick finally sat down. “Almost didn’t see you up here.” He admitted as he blew another cloud of smoke away from her. “Didn’t see a light show this time around.”

Echo snorted. “Wasn’t called up here by the past this time.” She said as she idly rubbed Dogmeat’s face.

“Oh?”

Echo nodded towards the sky. “It’s a clear night. Wanted to see the stars for a bit…”

He hummed as he inhaled more smoke. “Folks these days seem to take them for granted. Had any-er visions of the pre-war night sky?”

She shook her head. “Probably have, but my ‘echoes’ tend to, uh, force me to focus on specifics. Bit hard to break from ‘the script’.”

“Ah.” Nick leaned back in his seat. “Will say, the skies are much brighter now than they were back then. Light pollution would hide them. Some of course still shined despite the glow of the glow from the cities tryin’ to drown them out.”

“There’s always more when we’re far from the lights.” Echo agreed, gently running her nails along Dogmeat’s snout and between his eyes, “NoOne told me a bit about the old constellations. Found a book with a few star maps too while growing up. Couldn’t exactly match them-” her lips thinned as she cleared her throat, “So, uh, do you have any favorite constellations?”

Nick raised a brow. “You warm enough?”

She snorted and leaned into him. “I came better prepared this time, _detective.”_

He chuckled. “I see that.” He snuffed out his cigarette on the chair next to him and scanned the night sky. “Mmmm, bit harder to-” he frowned as he leaned into her, “one of the stars had died in the guy’s shoulder- _there.”_ He pointed out a trio of stars in a small line. “Orion’s belt.”

Echo glanced up at him in disbelief. “A belt...has a shoulder?” She laughed when Nick gave her the side eye. “I’m just teasing.”

He smirked as he put his arm on the back of Echo’s seat. “Uh huh,” he turned back to the sky, “the constellation is Orion.” He pointed out the trio of stars again, “It's made up of those three stars and-well, he _used_ to have two shoulders.” He raised his hand to point them out. “However, before either of our times, his left shoulder, a star named Betelgeuse had some trouble and well-” he shrugged, “dimmed out. There’s other stars in the constellation of course. But I couldn’t tell ya the name of all of them.”

“So, people named the stars?”

“Only a few of them,” he smiled, “kind of hard to name them all when there are trillions of them out there.”

Echo snorted as leaned further into him, trying her best to mooch off his body heat. “I was about to say, who the hell would have the time and patience to name them all.”

Dogmeat yawned, climbed more onto her lap, and nuzzled her hand back onto his head.

They laughed.

“I think he’s a little jealous.” Nick said, leaning past Echo to catch Dogmeat’s eye.

Dogmeat crawled further onto Echo’s lap and rested his chin on Nick’s lap.

Echo shook her head. “I think you’re right.” She looked back up at the sky, “Isn’t there like a dog star or something?”

“Sirius. Orion’s dog, also known as the Dog Star.” Nick answered while slowly rubbing his thumb up along Dogmeat’s snout. “It’s one of the brightest stars in the sky. Named after, you guessed it, another Greek myth. He actually follows behind Orion...if you follow his belt at an angle-” Nick raised his hand and hummed, “I think, it’s that one…but I could be wrong.”

Echo nodded. “I meant a constellation, but that’ll do.” she ran her nails along Dogmeat’s back, “Hey, Dogmeat, what do you think about that star being named after _you_ instead?”

Dogmeat’s tail thumped against the seat. He boofed.

Echo grinned at Nick. “You hear that? Sirius has been usurped.”

Nick laughed and squeezed her arm. “Dogmeat it is.”

Echo stifled a yawn. “Move over Sirius. There’s a new dog in town.”

“Come on, Sam.” Nick pulled his hat down, “Should get ya out of this cold and get ya to bed.”

She waved him off. “I’m fiiiiine.” She covered her mouth as she yawned again. “I’m totally awake.”

He gave her a look of disbelief.

She sighed. “Okay...but give me like, ten more minutes.”

“How about five?”

“Mmm, seven. Final offer.”

Nick squeezed her shoulder. “You drive a hard bargain.”

“And that’s why Myrna hates me.”

He snorted. “Sure it is. No other reason what-so-ever.”

“None,” she nodded.

“Do you have a favorite star?” He asked, scanning the night sky.

“Well…” Echo glanced up at Nick’s eyes, “it’s kind of hard to pick… But, uh,” she turned back towards the sky before he noticed, “probably not the North Star. Wherever _that_ is…”

“Oh?”

“NoOne tried to, uh, teach me how to locate it, and _use_ it, but-”

“Got more lost?” he guessed.

She elbowed him. He laughed.

**Author's Note:**

> [Betelgeuse started to dim in 2019](https://www.sciencenews.org/article/betelgeuse-star-dim-supernova-death-what-happened) and 2020 before coming back to its bright red supergiant self. I had a thought of "What if it just collapsed in itself instead? And Orion just didn't have a shoulder anymore." Which, honestly is what I just decided to go with. Fallout is on a different timeline after all, and this is also set like 200+ years in the future anyways. Why the hell not, ya know?
> 
> Also, I will say I do find it amusing that one of the theories about Betelgeuse's dimming is "The star had a big sneeze."


End file.
